Bartley vs. Rubin

Updated March 2, 2002 12:01 a.m. ET

I see that there is a Robert Bartley versus Bob Rubin (in absentia) debate on the question :"Do budget surpluses lead to lower interests rates, leading to a booming economy?" ("The Anti-Keynes: Do Surpluses Stimulate?")

The Rubin concept is not that the absolute level of long term interest rates is related to budget surpluses. Many, many inputs determine the absolute level of interest rates and everyone agrees that government surpluses or deficits are a minor input to the resulting level of long-term...